Guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems for aerial vehicles (AV) include avionics on the AV and associated ground support systems. Guidance of the AV is often controlled by factors that accommodate payload of the AV, and any information gathering tasks of the AV. For some tasks, it can be useful to have the AV maintain a stand-off pattern or other pattern that is in relation to a target. This may be to accommodate payload image quality, such as enabling cameras on the AV to obtain high quality images from a desired perspective.
Uncertainties and potential faults in guidance and navigation algorithms can cause problems with maintaining positioning of the AV in the pattern. In addition, methods of determining a target's position and velocity (or relative position and velocity with respect to the AV) are based on the AV positioning information, and thus, accurate position information may be needed.
Real-time data of a position and velocity of the target, and accurately knowing the position and velocity of the AV are needed to determine a pattern for the AV to follow such that the target remains in constant view of the AV. Existing stand-off patterns for fixed wing air vehicles, or any vehicles which are unable or ineffective at hover or position holding, often are difficult to adapt to changing conditions due to preset parameters, and changing the amount of target exposure to payload coverage can be difficult. What is needed is a predictable and consistent pattern determination method for the AV to follow, in relation to the target, which also can be updated as the position of the target is updated.